Parkland students like Emma Gonzales remind me so much of myself at their age. I was ready to change the world, and I knew exactly how to do it. I also rocked the same kind of natty friendship bracelets, and even shaved my head (well, part of it). Twenty-five years ago, I helped mobilize thousands of students to stand up for a free-standing Black Cultural Center at UNC-Chapel Hill. I was ready to take on the world! But then life kept beating me down and telling me I was not so important, and eventually I started to believe it.

People my age (and especially older) lack the fire and vision to make the changes we desperately need. These students are right, they are mobilized, and they have a platform to speak to the nation. I am totally ready to follow those young people's leadership and energy. It's their turn, and us olds have messed it up enough already.

Here is some information (copied from Kristin's blog post) about how we can support their upcoming actions:

Wednesday, March 14: #Enough - A National School Walk Out! The Women's March Youth EMPOWER Team is calling for a seventeen-minute (1 minute for every life lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School) national school walk out on Wednesday, March 14th at 10am in all timezones.
https://twitter.com/WomensMarchY/

 

Saturday, March 24th: #March4OurLives - Student survivors from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL are calling for a march on Washington, D.C. and also in cities across our nation on Saturday, March 24th Go to https://www.marchforourlives.com/ for more information.
https://twitter.com/AMarch4OurLives

 

Friday, April 20th: #NationalSchoolWalkout - Other student and education groups are calling for a longer-term student walk out on the anniversary of Columbine.
https://twitter.com/schoolwalkoutUS/

Photo credit: Humans of MSD